Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Are you my Neighbor?

Not a very pretty picture, but the house next to mine.
It has sat empty for 2 years as it has been in foreclosure.
Oh how I wish there were a neighbor there.
A neighbor would bring "soul" back into this house.

Seeing this empty house has given me thought as to who is my neighbor.
Is a neighbor only someone that lives next door?
Is my neighbor someone I meet face to face at the market?
Is my neighbor someone that touches my heart from around the world?
Is my neighbor the ones that suffer with ill will in their countries?

Looking in the dictionary it says that my neighbor is someone close to me.
I hold those in my heart that are suffering, is that close enough to qualify as my neighbor?
Who are your neighbors?
As Mr. Rogers use to sing, Won't you be my neighbor?

8 comments:

Although we are separated by many miles, I'd be happy to be your neighbor! The gorgeous Victorian house next to Susanna's has sat dormant for years, in foreclosure also. Fortunately, it just sold, and a photography studio is going reside there. Happy to see the home come back to life!

This must be the house that I peeked into the back yard when we had tea in your greenhouse. I would love to be your neighbor right next door - but I am definitely already your neighbor. I like it that way!~Adrienne~

Sadly, my elderly neighbor on one side is now in an assisted living facility - it's doubtful she'll return. I've been to visit her but she's very difficult now after a stroke and I feel uncomfortable, as if I'm intruding. I was her only visitor at her home (which reeked of cigarettes, but I could grin and bear it for short visits!), other than her local nephews (3) who will inherit her property. I used to take her split pea soup, poppyseed muffins, homegrown tomatoes, and little meals from my kitchen - she in turn sent me tins of gourmet cookies at the holidays and on my birthday! We weren't true friends in the sense of doing things together - although I did invite her over for tea once and she seemed to enjoy it. However, I always considered her a true neighbor - she would watch our house when we were away - she gave me her key and I went and picked her up when she fell a couple of times. We enjoyed watching the feral kittens and fox kits in our back gardens - I collected her mail when she couldn't get down the drive. We just did neighborly things.

On the other side I have a Grandma, her single 30- something daughter and her 6 y.o. granddaughter. Originally from NJ they are amazing women who have never met a stranger. I have grown to really care about them as they struggle from week to week to make ends meet. They are renting and we dread they will eventually have to move if the owner decides to sell. They love Bob who lectures them on life, the safety of having good tires, and lends them our garden tools. He takes the child on 'nature walks' through our garden - he who doesn't know an orchid from a weed - then he tells her to 'go ask Miss Mary, she knows all the names". He gave them front row theatre tickets to see Cinderella at Christmas, and we go to the elementary school to watch her 1st grade concerts - the same ones we enjoyed when our own granddaughter was at the same school. What do they do for us you may ask. They keep us young, they make us laugh, and sometimes cry a wee bit because we worry so much about them. They take down and bring up our trash cans, they cook Bob meals when I'm away traveling. We share a bottle of wine in gazebo on a warm evening - they invite us over on holidays when our own kids are too busy! Deep down we feel they would do anything within their limited power to help us if we needed it.

These are my neighbors - and I guess I could write a book about them but I'm stopping here!!!!!! To me, true neighbors are right next door and hopefully we all do the best we can to be good ones, with or without fences!

About Me

Many things bring great delight to me: tea, gardens, flowers, outdoors, food, and friends that cross my path. These all make my heart sing with small chuckles, giggles, laughter, and tears. It is my desire to seek beauty all around me, have the heart of a gypsy, a storyteller.

Asso. of Tea Bloggers

PNW Bloggers

Books Read

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa DiffenbaughA Fine Romance by Susan BranchTea Shop Mysteries by Laura ChildsLost Lake by Sarah Addison AllanThe House at Riverton by Kate MortonThe Secret Keeper by Kate MortonWithout Reservations by Alice SteinbachA Week in Winter by Marcia WillettEight Girls Taking Pictures by Whitney OttoTarnished Beauty by Cecilia SamartinThe Time in Between by Maria DuenasThe Orchid House by Lucinda RileyThe Lavender Garden by Lucinda RileyBroken Paradise by Cecilia SamartinKindred Spirits by Sarah StrohmeyerA Place at the Table by Susan Rebecca White

Pray for Cancer Cure

Dear God,I pray for the cure of cancer.AmenIn memory of dear friends:Adrienne and Linda